Radford University and the ESDES School of Business and Management have signed an exchange agreement that will enable Radford students to study at the prestigious business school in Lyon, France.

Radford’s International Education Center (IEC) now offers nine exchange programs in which students study for a semester at an international partner university. The agreement with ESDES, signed on Feb. 22 by Provost Joseph Scartelli, will enable students to spend a semester studying in Lyon and ESDES students will study here.

ESDES, located in south central France, is affiliated with the Catholic University of Lyon and has more than 1500 students. RU students will be able to choose from over 40 courses in the areas of management, marketing, finance, international business, and the European Union as well as having the option to take French language classes at all levels.

“ESDES is proud to become a partner of Radford University,” said Kevin Pon, ESDES international director. “We will be striving to create a new model of international education to cover all its components - teaching, research and professional experiences.”

ESDES will provide RU students with all they need to make the transition into living in France as easy as possible including housing, health insurance and academic advising.

It will also offer excursions and activities, such as trips to Paris and the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, cooking classes with a French chef, as well as dinners with local families, visits to area museums and regional ski areas.

Radford has existing exchange agreements with such international universities as France’s Blaise Pascal University and the Universite' Catholique de l'Ouest, Japan’s Kansai Gaidai University and the Universities of Glasgow and Kassel in Scotland and Germany respectively.

“One of our goals at the IEC is to broaden the range of opportunities for Radford students to study and travel internationally. We anticipate adding more exchange agreements in the next few months to mirror this exciting new partnership with ESDES,” said IEC Director Paul Currant.

Currant added that six McGlothlin Travel Grants have been earmarked for students to take a semester abroad opportunity at one of the IEC’s international exchange partners. For more about the McGlothlin Travel Grant application process and other ways to gain international education experience, contact the IEC in Cook 105 or call 540-831-6200.